993 Kiwi Adventure

Todd: So, for people going to New Zealand, what would you recommend? What are three or four places that you must see in New Zealand?

Monica: Oh, OK, three or four places you must see. Well, it depends what you're looking for really. I think a lot of people that come to New Zealand enjoy an outdoor lifestyle, so there's lots of outdoor activities and places you can go to to enjoy in New Zealand. Personally, I find the South Island of New Zealand very scenic in comparison to the North Island, so for me, a must-do is the West Coast of the South Island. It's very pretty.

Todd: The West Coast.

Monica: Yeah. In particular, there's two glaciers. Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers, which are very stunning to look at, and you can either have a look at them by foot, or you can pay for a helicopter ride that takes you up and shows you an ariel view of them.

Todd: Now, do people ever walk across the glaciers?

Monica: There are guides that can walk you across. Yeah, I haven't done it personally, but it is possible.

Todd: So what else would you recommend for New Zealand? What other places should people see?

Monica: I think if you want to see ... let me think ... rural New Zealand. It's quite a nice idea to drive the length of the country and then you can see the interesting farming that is taking place, in particular in the South Island. The lower part of the South Island, and a lot of the North Island as well. There's a lot of sheep in New Zealand and there's a lot of cattle as well, so I think it's interesting to go for a drive to see that firsthand.

Todd: So, you just start up in Auckland in the north and drive all the way down south?

Monica: Yeah, well, there's many ways you can do it, but I recommend one way of doing it is too arrive in Auckland and to have an experience of a big city, well a big city for New Zealand, and then drive down the center of the North Island and maybe have a farming experience somewhere. There's a lot of farm stay opportunities available for tourists who come to New Zealand, so depending on how you do it. You might want to stay two or three days with a family and experience a farming lifestyle. So that's, yeah, one thing I'd recommend. And another is to maybe go to a city like Rotorua which is really in the center of the North Island, and experience Maori culture. There's a Maori village there near the Whakarewarewa forest which hosts a lot of tourists, and you get to experience Maori waiata which is Maori songs and you get to see the hot springs in New Zealand and thermal mud pools, so, yeah, Rotorua is a nice city to go and visit, and then work your way down to the capital of New Zealand which is Wellington, and I think if you want to experience the cafe lifestyle of New Zealand that's a good place to go.

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

a must do

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A must do is the west coast.

Here, we can think of ‘must do’ as meaning a place you must see or ‘must visit’. Notice the following:

The Palace of Versailles is a must do if you’re in France.

The Statue of Liberty is on my must do list when I visit New York.

stunning

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It is stunning to look at.

In this context, ‘stunning’ simply means very, very beautiful. Here are two samples:

On a clear day, the view from the Eiffel Tower is absolutely stunning.

The natural beauty of the Amazon rainforest is stunning.

an aerial view

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It shows you an aerial view.

We use the word ‘aerial’ to talk about things in the sky. An ‘aerial view’ is a view from a balloon, airplane or in this case a helicopter, high above the land. Notice the samples:

Helicopter tours offer a unique aerial view of the Hawaiian Islands.

An aerial view of the Swiss Alps is truly unforgettable.

farm stay

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There are many farm stay opportunities.

There are many places to stay when we travel; for example, hotels and youth hostels. A ‘farm stay’ is an opportunity to spend time on a farm and experience a farming lifestyle. Here are some samples:

work your way down

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You should work your way down to the capital.

When we travel, we usually have a list of places we wish to visit. ‘Work your way down’ means to start at the top of the list and work your way down from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on to the last. Notice the sample sentences:

We’ll start our vacation in France, next Spain, then work our way down to Italy.

Wow! There are so many expensive shops to see. Let’s start at Ginza 1 and work our way down.